Summary This position is located in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). This position serves as Programs Specialist and provides guidance to implementation of Farm Bill Programs and other associated NRCS Programs throughout the state. This position is for the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), State Office, Programs staff, located in Auburn, AL. Responsibilities Provides leadership, technical expertise, program management, partner outreach, training, and quality control for Regional Conservation partnership Programs (RCPP), Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) and other Farm Bill Programs. Assists with partner agreement management by performing the following: tracking deliverables and ensuring proper payments or reimbursements are made to lead partner entities. Assists program by analyzing workload associated with RCPP/CIG, making staffing recommendations, tracking budget allocations, and tracking other financial aspects of the RCPP and CIG. Assists technical leads with RCPP and CIG agreement negotiations and development by performing the following: understanding and advising on specific deliverables for implementation of programs. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications AREA OF CONSIDERATION: Please note that this job opportunity announcement is only open to current Career/Career-Conditional employees of the USDA. If you do not possess this status, you will not receive consideration. TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENTS: Merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible. One year at the GS-09 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-11 level. One year at the GS-11 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-12 level. (Please submit your SF-50 that shows Time-in-Grade eligibility and reflects your title, series, and grade. No Award or General Adjustment SF-50's will be accepted). BASIC REQUIREMENTS: This is an interdisciplinary position and applicants must meet one of the following educational requirements stated below to meet the Basic Requirements under the series in which they apply for this position to be considered. (Must submit transcripts) Basic Requirement for the 0401 series: Degree: Must have a bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. (You must submit transcripts.) OR Combination of Education and Experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The quality of the combination of education and experience must be sufficient to demonstrate that the applicant possesses the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform work in the occupation, and is comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with a major in the appropriate field. In addition to courses in the major and related fields, a typical college degree would have included courses that involved analysis, writing, critical thinking, research, etc. These courses would have provided an applicant with skills and abilities sufficient to perform progressively more responsible work in the occupation. Therefore, creditable experience should have demonstrated similarly appropriate skills or abilities needed to perform the work of the occupation. (You must submit transcripts.) Basic Requirement for the 0457 series: Degree: Bachelor's or higher degree in soil conservation or related agricultural or natural resource discipline such as agronomy, soil science, forestry, agricultural education, or agricultural engineering. The study must have included 30 semester hours in a natural resource or agricultural field, including at least 12 semester hours in a combination of soils and crops or plant science. Of the 12 semester hours, a minimum of 3 semester hours must have been in soils and 3 semester hours in crops or plant science. (You must submit transcripts.) OR Combination of Education and Experience: at least 30 semester hours in one or more of the disciplines as shown in A above, including at least 12 semester hours in a combination of soils and crops or plant science, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Of the 12 semester hours, a minimum of 3 semester hours must have been in soils and 3 semester hours in crops or plant science. The quality of the combination of education and experience must be sufficient to demonstrate that the applicant possesses the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform work in the occupation, and is comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with a major in the appropriate field. In addition to courses in the major and related fields, a typical college degree would have included courses that involved analysis, writing, critical thinking, research, etc. These courses would have provided an applicant with skills and abilities sufficient to perform progressively more responsible work in the occupation. Therefore, creditable experience should have demonstrated similarly appropriate skills or abilities needed to perform the work of the occupation. (You must submit transcripts.) In addition to meeting one of the Basic Requirements listed above, applicants must meet the following Minimum Qualifications Requirement in order to be considered: MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: To be considered minimally qualified for this position, you must demonstrate that you have the required specialized experience and/or education for the respective grade level(s) in which you are applying: Specialized Experience at the GS-11: One or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties: Interpreting and applying conservation program requirements to track contracts, monitor program funds, and assemble documents; Using computer software such as Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Word to compile reports, produce charts and graphs, and/or monitor project status; AND Meeting with landowners, partners or producers for to education or to answer questions on the financial paperwork needed to comply with conservation program requirements. (Your resume must CLEARLY demonstrate this experience) OR Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, agronomy, soil science, forestry, agricultural education, or agricultural engineering or related disciplines appropriate to the position. Major course of study must be in a field directly related to the work of this position. (Must submit transcripts.) OR Combination: Combination of specialized experience and graduate education as described above, that total 100% when combined. To determine your combination, first compute your experience as a percentage of the experience listed above; then determine your education as a percentage of the education listed above; then add the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent. (Only graduate level education in excess of two years (36 semester hours) may be combined with specialized experience. (Must submit transcripts and be reflected in resume. Specialized Experience at the GS-12: One or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties: Providing training to staff on the Farm bill or other conservation program to review contracts and monitor program funds; Representing an organization at conferences or on committees relating to the Farm bill or other conservation program requirements; AND Providing guidance to staff on the technical aspects of the Farm bill or other conservation assistance programs. (Your resume must CLEARLY demonstrate this experience) Note: There is no education substitution for the GS-12 level. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. The OPM Qualification Standards for this position can be found at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=List-by-Occupational-Series Education You must submit a copy of your college transcripts or a list of college courses with credit hours, dates completed, and grades received to verify all education requirements (i.e. substitution of education and/or basic education requirement). If a relevant course is not clearly qualifying (e.g. special topic, seminar, research, thesis, obscure or misleading course title, etc.), please submit an official course syllabi and/or detailed course description from the university/college for that particular course to ensure you are properly evaluated. Please note that qualifications determinations are based solely on the information submitted for each particular vacancy announcement. You must document all requirements on every vacancy; we cannot use previous determinations as a basis for rating. All required information must be received by the closing date of this announcement, and non-submission of all required documents/documentation will result in non-consideration. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted. This information must be received by the closing date of this announcement. Non-submission of these documents will result in non-consideration. Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Applicants must, therefore, only report attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants can verify accreditation via this link. All education claimed by applicants will be verified accordingly. Important: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. Click on this link for more information. Additional Information Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Reemployment Priority List (RPL): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP or RPL eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100. Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Employees: Permanent County employees without prior Federal tenure who are selected for a Civil Service position under Public Law 105-277 will be given a career-conditional appointment and must serve a 1-year probationary period. If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is neither implied nor guaranteed. This position is eligible for telework within the local commuting area of the position and other flexible work arrangements. Current USDA policy includes telework for an 8 hour work day, 4 days per week; other flexibilities are possible dependent upon availability and/or the position and its associated duties. Employee participation is at the discretion of the supervisor. PLEASE NOTE: In the interest of filling these positions as efficiently as possible, we are requiring the following: If called for an interview, applicants must be available to interview within 3 business days of being contacted. If a tentative job offer is extended, selectee will have 2 business days in which to accept or decline. Recruitment and/or relocation incentives may be authorized; Management may authorize superior qualifications & enhanced annual leave for applicants who are deemed to be highly qualified. Relocation expenses may be authorized as allowable by Federal Travel Regulations (FTR) and USDA policy.
